Belmont - CTA Purple Line Express, Brown & Red Lines

Belmont is an express station on the North Side Main Line and is just south of the Clark Junction where the Ravenswood branch used by the brown line leaves the Main Purple and Red Lines. It is also the middle station where the local track changes on the four track line. North of the station, the middle two tracks are the local tracks used by the red line with the stations having single island platforms. The Purple Line Express trains use the outside tracks. South of the station (for just 3 stops before the red line leaves to enter the State Street Subway) the outside tracks are used by the Brown and Purple Lines and stations have side platforms. The Purple Line Express stops at three stations that the Red Line skips south of this station, it skips 12 stops on its non-stop runs north to Howard from this station. The stop is the terminus of late night and early Sunday morning Brown Line Shuttle trains that run from here out to Kimball only, requiring passengers to switch to the Red Line to continue south to the loop. From 1961 until the Summer of 2000 this included all-day on Sunday. During late night Owl hours when there is no Brown Line service and just 24-hour Red Line trains their operations don't change and they still run on the middle express tracks bypassing Wellington and Diversity Stations which are closed.

The stop was renovated as part of the Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project (although it was already able to platform eight car trains for the Red Line), it was never closed but three-track operations was required with trains in one direction sharing a single track in each direction to rebuild the track and expand the elevated structure since the island platforms had to be widened to allow the installation of elevator shafts. The station historic station house was also moved across the street from the southside to the northside of the street (History on Chicago-L.org).

Today's station has two concrete island platforms that have modern slightly translucent glass canopies held up by central cream colored supports, These cover the platforms except for less than a car-length at each of the extreme ends. The station has two entrances, one on each side of Belmont Avenue:

The main entrance is on the south side of the street here there is no station house but a silver hanging light structure that says "Belmont — cta Red, Purple, Brown Lines." Straight ahead there is first a modern silver customer assistance booth, behind it is the bank of turnstiles. The FVMs are along each side of the turnstile area that is framed by escalators that rise up over the street and up to each platform. The bottom of these escalators are clad in white bricks. There is an additional high exit only turnstile at the foot of each escalator on the other side of the central turnstiles. Next there is an elevator up to each platform followed by a wide staircase. This reaches an intermediate landing and then two staircases on each side of it lead in opposite directions up to each of the platforms.

On the white brick wall of the this intermediate landing and surrounding the concrete posts that hold up the elevated structure above Belmont Avenue and within the station are extra large cartoonish mixed media mosaic eyes, We All Ride the Train Together by David Lee Csicsko.

The historic 1900 station house has been restored to its original brown brick color including the columns outside of it. Wooden doors lead inside the wood paneled building with wood trim along the windows. There is a magazine vending machine, coke machine, and a rare FVM at an entrance of high entrance turnstiles with two leading outside the rear of the station house. There is an additional high exit turnstile on each side of station house. To reach the platforms a wide staircase leads up to an intermediate landing before splitting into two and a single staircase leads up to about a car-length south of the northern end of each platform.
All Photos taken on 1 August, 2001